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Docker

A Docker container allow you to run easily a node without depending on the platform it is running on. This method should be reserved for users who already have experience with Docker containers.

Installation​

If you don't already have, start by installing docker: How to install Docker on Ubuntu

Create a local directory for the chain storage data and a dedicated user:

sudo mkdir /var/lib/astar
sudo useradd --no-create-home --shell /usr/sbin/nologin astar
sudo chown astar:astar /var/lib/astar

Start Docker node​

In this guide, we will start a container for both WS and RPC endpoints. If you want only one of those, just remove the unnecessary port and command.

Launch the docker node in detached mode:

tip

Please make sure to change ${NODE_NAME}

docker run -d \
--name astar-container \
-u $(id -u astar):$(id -g astar) \
-p 30333:30333 \
-p 9933:9933 \
-p 9944:9944 \
-v "/var/lib/astar/:/data" \
staketechnologies/astar-collator:latest \
astar-collator \
--pruning archive \
--name ${NODE_NAME} \
--chain astar \
--execution Wasm \
--base-path /data \
--rpc-cors=all \
--unsafe-rpc-external \
--ws-external

You can test the node health through RPC port with this command:

curl -H "Content-Type: application/json" --data '{ "jsonrpc":"2.0", "method":"system_health", "params":[],"id":1 }' localhost:9933

Next steps​

For any usage, wait for the chain to be fully sync by checking the node log.

It depends on what you plan to do with your archive node.

  • In most cases, you will want to access node from outside. In this case, nginx server is one of available options.
  • If you run your dapp on the same server than the node (recommended for testing purpose only), you can access it directly with the localhost address.
  • If you run the node locally for testing purpose, you can for example switch network into Polkadot.js portal and explore the chain:

1

Extra operations​

Get node logs​

To get the last 100 lines from the node logs, use the following command:

docker logs -f -n 100 $(docker ps -aq --filter name="{CHAIN}-container")

replacing {CHAIN} with astar, shiden, or shibuya

eg.

docker logs -f -n 100 $(docker ps -aq --filter name="astar-container")

Indexers and oracles​

To access data from indexers (lke The Graph) or Oracles (like Chainlink), you need to add the debug flags below to the node launch command, after the astar-collator line:

-l evm=debug,ethereum=debug,rpc=debug

Upgrade node​

When an upgrade is necessary, node operators are be notified in our Discord and Element group.

To upgrade to the latest node version, stop and remove the actual container:

docker stop $(docker ps -q --filter name="{CHAIN}-container")
docker rm $(docker ps -a -q --filter name="{CHAIN}-container")

where {CHAIN} is astar, shiden, or shibuya.

Then start a new container with the information under "Start Docker Node". Chain data will be kept on your machine under /var/lib/astar/.

Purge node​

To start a new container from scratch without any chain data, just remove the container and wipe the chain data directory:

docker rm -f $(docker ps -a -q --filter name="CHAIN-container")
sudo rm -R /var/lib/astar/*

where CHAIN is astar, shiden, or shibuya.

Then start a new container by following the instructions under the Start Docker node section.

Relay Chain snapshot​

If you run your collator it not only needs to sync the mainnet chain but also the complete relay chain from Kusama / Polkadot. This can take up to 3-4 days. You can also use a snapshot of Kusama/Polkadot. You can download this here and will save a lot of time.

caution

know what you are doing when using snapshots!